On Saturday while she’d been arranging those files in his study, for a moment she’d found herself fantasizing about the tall, dark, prince-like Raoul Fontesquieu on the opposite end of the spectrum. There was no question he seemed to be and have everything she’d dreamed about after her father had taken them to see the château and grounds. But there was a glaring divide that excluded her.
He was born to that billionaire class of people and culture who could have whatever they wanted, who’d recently divorced with a love child in tow from the beautiful woman whose picture sat on Alain’s dresser.
Raoul was obviously estranged from his family and the stories he’d told her explained why. Any day now he expected to cut himself off from them. There had to be serious trouble inside that dynasty for the media to print news about him that wasn’t true. Since their conversation, she understood why he didn’t want to live in the château that was a treasure of France, an iconic symbol some people would sell their souls to inhabit.
Even with her empathy for him, could she bring herself to trust a man like Raoul Fontesquieu? How would he react if he knew about her heart condition? Right now he was attracted to her. Would his attraction for Cami be fleeting until he found another woman he wanted to be with? Possibly one from his own strata?
Cami had made up her mind that until her heart gave out, she needed to survive in her own strata. If she couldn’t become independent on her own, then she would have no one to blame but herself. With her father gone and a marriage dissolved a long time ago, she’d be a fool to go on trusting her growing feelings for Raoul if he didn’t feel the same way. Part of her felt like she didn’t have the right to his love.
On Tuesday Cami left for work with her mom. Raoul said he’d call her today. Maybe, maybe not. She missed him horribly and began to wonder if those roses had been his way of saying goodbye to her, just as she’d feared.
While she and her mom sat out in the van to eat lunch, her phone rang. It made her jump before she pulled it out of her purse and discovered it was Raoul. Just the sight of his name started her heart thumping.
“If that’s who I think it is, I’ll go inside while you answer it.” Her mother was out of the car in an instant.
Cami clicked On. “Raoul?” She tried to keep the tremor out of her voice.
“I hope it’s the right time to phone you.”
“Of course. I’m eating my lunch.”
“I would have called sooner but I’ve been out of town and just got back. The villa isn’t the same without you being here. Are you free tonight? I thought we’d take a drive along the côte and eat dinner somewhere. There are things I want to talk about with you.”
Her body reacted as if she’d suddenly been hit by a bolt of electricity. “I’d love to do that.” Despite all her fears, she realized there weren’t many more days before her operation. She had to admit she wanted to spend every free moment with Raoul.
“How soon can you be ready?”
“By six thirty.”
“Perfect. À tout à l’heure, ma belle.”
He’d never used an endearment like that with her before. She hung up so excited, her feet hardly touched the ground as she went back in the house to join her mother. On their way home at the end of the day, Cami told her that Raoul was taking her out for the evening. She could tell her mother was happy about it.
Before he picked her up, she showered and washed her hair, leaving it loose. After blow-drying it, she picked out a skirt and sweater in shades of tan and white and spent time doing her makeup.
This time Cami waited until he came to the door. She invited him in because her mother wanted to thank him for the flowers. Once he’d ensconced her in the car, she turned to him.
“As my mother told you, she loved her marguerites. No one has sent her flowers since Papa died. You couldn’t have done anything nicer for her.”
“That’s because I’m grateful for all your hard work.”
“Those lavender roses are so exquisite, they take my breath away.”
“I have the same reaction when I look into your eyes. I’m glad you like them. If the hyacinths in the vineyard were in bloom, I’d have sent you an armful.”
“You’re much too generous.”
He started the car and they headed for the main route out of Vence. “You have no idea how I’ve been living for this evening. I thought we’d drive to Beaulieu and eat dinner on the water at a wonderful little spot that serves delectable cod croquettes you’ll love.”
“I was already hungry before you told me that.”
“Good. The whole time I was in Fréjus, I was planning out what we’d do when I got back.”
“What were you doing there?”
“News of my leaving the family business has reached all our clients. Some have been upset, so I arranged for a conference to meet with many of them and introduce them to Jean-Pierre.”
“How did it go?”